Ancient River North American Tour 2014: Beginnings

Alex Cordova and James Barreto of Ancient River (Image Courtesy of Ancient River)

[Editor’s Note: Our good friend (and guest contributor to Little Utopia) Alex Cordova is at the very beginning of a tour with his band Ancient River. After talking with him about his upcoming tour a few weeks ago, we thought it would be interesting for our readers if Alex would chronicle his time on the road, especially since many of us will never know what that experience is like. So, as the tour progresses, Alex will be updating all of us on the music, sights, food, stories, musings about the tour and whatever else comes to his mind. Check out Ancient River’s site (which you can find by clicking here) for music and tour dates. They just might be coming to a city near you.]

And so it begins. A little over eight weeks of rock and roll roaming through the American west, the Ancient River Spring American Tour 2014 will take me from the swamps of Gainesville, Florida, to the ice and snow of the northwest and beyond.

(Image courtesy of Ancient River)

We kicked things off on April 22nd with a show in Gainesville and then hit the road. First stop: the 529 in Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta is always a fun stop because we get to see our good friend Marcus and share some laughs. After getting lost for a brief moment and searching through a map of what seemed like Outkast lyrics, we found the venue, loaded in our gear, and had some much-needed beers. We stopped at Marcus’ place after the show to catch some Z’s. Sleep is crucial on the road. On the way up to Georgia, James was sleep talking to me about miniature buddha-shaped chocolates and had no recollection of saying anything when he woke up. I can only imagine the tiny chocolate buddhas falling from the sky in his dreams. Next stop: Knoxville, Tennessee.